County Courthouse

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, land probate, military and court records from 1734[1]

The first county courthouse was located near Pridesville and was in operation until it was destroyed by fire in 1766. A later courthouse was built at Dennisville. The present location was chosen in 1849. This is on a two-acre square in the center of what is known as the village of Amelia Court House, Virginia, also known simply as the Village. The currently used courthouse building was built in 1924.

Beginning Dates for Amelia County, Virginia Genealogy Government Records

Gray Family Bible [Records, ca. 1745-1956], Bible records / Governor Leonard Calvert Chapter, no. 29, California State Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists. Available on microfilm at FHL.

Church Records

Baptist

The 10,000 name petition (dated 16 October 1776) has been digitized at the Library of Congress website. It was signed by people from all over Virginia who wanted an end to persecution of Baptists by the Established Church. Baptists and Baptist sympathizers alike signed the petition. To find your ancestor in this record, first check Hall's transcription in the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy (Vols. 35-38, with annotations in Vol. 39), which is available online at Ancestry ($). It is also available in book form at the Family History Library: FHL Book 975.5 B2vs v. 35-39. Then proceed to the Library of Congress website to see the original images.

Immigration

Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. FHL 942 P27c 2007 (British Book). [Includes will of a resident of Raleigh, Amelia County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Land and Property

Deeds

Grants and Patents

Land patents (pre-1779), land grants (after 1779) and surveys are available online at the Library of Virginia website. For step-by-step instructions on retrieving these records, read the Virginia Land and Property article.

Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 975.5 H2bw 1965; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Amelia County, see pp. 28-30.]

Jones, W. Mac. "Some Revolutionary Soldiers as Shown by the Order Book of Amelia County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Apr., 1928), pp. 111-115. Digital version at JSTOR ($).

A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Bookset. al. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Amelia County on page 128.]

List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Governnment Printing Office, 1883. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Amelia County, pp. 60-61.]

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Amelia County, Virginia Genealogy served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Amelia County, Virginia Genealogy:

Naturalization

Newspapers

Amelia County Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)

Virginia Gazette: Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette(1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website. In addition, Professor Tom Costa and The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia have created a database of all runaway advertisements for slaves, indentured servants, transported convicts, and ship deserters listed in this source and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia. These newspapers are valuable resources for all regions of Virginia.

Petitions

Eckenrode, H.J. Virginia State Library: A Calendar of Legislative Petitions Arranged by Counties Accomac - Bedford. Richmond, Va.: Davis Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing, 1908. Digital version at Google Books (full-view). [Amelia County petitions (1778-1842) are described on pp. 96-107.]

Wise, Ben. Amelia County, Virginia Will Book 3: 1780 to 1786. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. [Includes "wills, appraisals, and inventories and also includes additional deaths and heirs from Order Books 15 and 17."]

Wise, Ben. Amelia County, Virginia Will Book 4: 1786 to 1792. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. [Includes "wills, appraisals, and inventories and also includes additional deaths and heirs from Order Books 18 and 19."]

Wise, Ben. Amelia County, Virginia Will Book 5: 1792 to 1799. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. [Includes "wills, appraisals, and inventories and also includes additional deaths and heirs from Order Books 18 and 19."]

London Courts

Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. FHL Collection 942 P27c 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Raleigh, Amelia County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

[1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. FHL 975.5 R4sn v. 1. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Amelia County is included in Vol. 1.]

Vital Record Substitutes

The Virginia Historical Society's Marriage and Obituary Index, 1736-1820 (newspaper abstracts) is available for free online. Images of the original index cards are browseable, arranged alphabetically by surname.

↑Ninth Census of the United States: Statistics of Population, Tables I to VIII Inclusive (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1872), 70. Digital version at Internet Archive; FHL Book 973 X2pcu.